TBD - Oh My

TBD - Oh My
Not to suggest that TBD are in any way taken Yello, but it's hard to listen to the New York duo's second single (and first for DFA) and not think of that Swiss duo's single "You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess." Don't get me wrong, it doesn't sound anything like the song, but as a motto for music-making, Justin Vandervolgen and Douglas Lee always say yes to any and all sounds to the point of glorious excess.

The appropriately named "Oh My" dogpiles squelches, robo-snares, squirts of acid, lasers, hi-hats crisper than a chip, cheap rave FX run through a wood chipper, androids dreaming electric whippoorwills, deep whumps, a screaming synth solo and a freshly-opened can of handclaps. Did I leave out the bubble machine? TBD didn't. And that's all before they hotwire a ZZ Top guitar (circa "Legs") and take a joyride deeper into the whole mess. That it never sounds out of hand is a testament to TBD's ability to strike a balance, something their remixes haven't always exhibited.

"OK, Cool" is the same basic track, but one that subtracts rather than adds. It reveals higher frequencies and a bit more space between the meaty house kick and the 303. When that guitar returns the second time around, it's not a spray of sparks but rather a lone flare out on the horizon.